China Eximbank provides RMB 61 million concessional loan for District Development Fund (DDF) Equipment Project

On February 23, 2001, China Eximbank signed an RMB 61,660,000 ($8.6 million) government concessional loan (GCL) agreement with the Government of Zimbabwe for the District Development Fund (DDF) Equipment Project. However, the face value of the loan was subsequently revised to RMB 59,090,833.33. The loan carries the following borrowing terms: a 20 year maturity (final maturity date: 2021), a 5 year grace period, and a 3% interest rate. The project facilitated the acquisition of equipment for the development, maintenance and upgrading of road infrastructure. However, there are signs that the China Eximbank loan contracted by the Government of Zimbabwe for the DDF Equipment Project has underperformed financially. As of 2018, the borrower had accumulated principal and interest arrears and penalties worth $395,162.14. The loan’s amount outstanding (including principal, interest, and arrears) was $2,487,811.44 as of September 2021.

Additional details

1. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that it released in July 2020, SAIS-CARI identifies the maturity of this loan as 20 years. AidData records the maturity (20 years) that is reported Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in its 2019 Blue Book Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure.

Number of official sources

4

Number of total sources

9